As drones become cheaper, smaller and equipped with better technology, their use will become more ubiquitous. In fact, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has estimated that within five years there could be 7,500 hobby drones operating within the United States. These drones will be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from the innocuous to the malicious. Already individuals are using drones for such purposes as monitoring police DUI checkpoints for abuse of power, to take photos at national parks, to check crop yields and to spy on unsuspecting neighbors and bystanders. Drone technology is still in its infancy, but it is quickly becoming apparent that additional laws and regulations may be needed to protect individual privacy against recreational drone use.

In September 2014, a New Jersey man was arrested after he shot down a neighbor’s drone that was taking aerial photographs of his home’s construction project. The shooter was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and criminal mischief. While incidents of drone shootings are isolated, across the country, documented incidents of drone-fueled frustration is on the rise. For example, in the spring of 2014, a Connecticut woman confronted and shoved a drone pilot who was filming sunbathers on a beach. The woman who shoved the drone pilot was arrested and charged with assault. These two events garnered attention in part because the drone pilots themselves were not charged with any crime. Instead, the people charged with crimes were those who felt that their privacy had been invaded.

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